668 



GLEANINGS IN BEE CULTURE 



OCTORER, 1919 



HEADS OF" GRAIN T I?:FROM DIFFERENT FIELDS 



Honey Cases 

 Made into Demuth 

 Cases. 



In making prepara- 

 tions for wintering a 

 number of colonies of 

 bees according to the 

 Demuth plan, it occurred to me that the box 

 for holding two 5-gallon honey-cans, if stood 

 on end, would answer all the requirements 

 of a first-class case for the combs. All that 

 is necessary to prepare the box for use as a 

 winter case is to remove carefully the cover 

 and one end of the box, and, of course, the 

 partition if the box has separate compart- 

 ments for the cans. Construct a rim around 

 the open end to hold the sides and bottom of 

 the box closely in contact. The cover of 

 the box is to be used as a follower, and the 

 removed end as a cover. This box has the 

 advantage of being readily adapted to al- 

 most any size of colony, as the follower 

 confines the bees to just the space they can 

 occupy for best wintering, up to 10 L. 

 combs. The rim around the top makes the 

 box sufficiently deep to provide the required 

 space for feeding, it being 20 inches deep, 

 inside measure, exclusive of rim. 



In using this box in connection with the 

 quadruple three-story hives, as a winter 



Honey case made over into Deniufb winter ease. 



case, as illustrated in editorial in the 1918 

 October Gleanings, place the boxes on end 

 with backs against the inside short dimen- 

 sion of hives, backs to backs and sides to 

 sides, as per diagram. A few nails driven 



thru the sides and ends of the quadruple 

 three-story hives for holding these boxes 

 or the Demuth cases will serve to hold them 

 tightly in contact, and the nails are easily 

 drawn out when the colonies are removed. 

 As these honey-boxes are 10% inches wide 



Diagram showing scheme of wintering four colonies 

 in honey cases made over into Demuth cases, and 

 packed in four three-story hives. C represents 

 packing; B, followers; A, compartment occupied by 

 tlie bees; and D, nails holding the 10-frame hive 

 bodies in contact. 



and 151/4 inches deep without the cover, 

 outside measure, it will be seen that this 

 box, when cased with the 10-frame L. hive 

 bodies, as per diagram, allows for Z% inches 

 ] lacking at the sides and four inches at the 

 front ends when the box contains 10 Lang- 

 stroth combs, and correspondingly more 

 packing when fewer combs are used. 



The cheapness and economy in using these 

 boxes in wintering bees will be better under- 

 stood when we consider that after the bees 

 are removed from them in the spring they 

 are readily convertible to their original use 

 as honey cases. Beekeepers who have not 

 these honey cases on hand and wish to save 

 colonies that would perish without extra 

 l>rotection and who will need honey cases 

 of this kind next season, would do well to 

 purchase them this fall. They would thus 

 get double use of them and, no doubt, a more 

 bountiful crop of honey to fill them. 



There is no doubt that bees will winter 

 better in a deep narrow enclosure. Espe- 

 cially is this mode of preparing colonies for 

 winter to be recommended where the colo- 



